We are roughly halfway through the 2026 F1 season, with the summer break about to come to an end with the 12th race of the year, the Dutch Grand Prix at the Circuit Zandvoort breaking the month’s rest for the teams and drivers. It has been an exhilarating year of Formula 1 so far, with one driver being head and shoulders above the rest.
Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Charles Leclerc, and Lando Norris all taking the checkered flag in the last few months may have given race fans something resembling a drivers’ title race, but five straight victories for Kimi Antonelli at the beginning of the year (as well as one more recently) have given the Italian driver a distinct advantage. If he wins a few more soon after the break, he will surely be the favorite with all the best Formula 1 betting sites to take the crown.
MyTopSportsbooks is the place to discover those sites, but in a sport so closely associated with Ferrari and other names and brands from the peninsula, it might be surprising for some to learn that Antonelli would be only the third Italian to claim the drivers’ championship in the history of F1. With only 15 Italian drivers ever managing to win a race, he is already a national icon. But where does this year’s standout driver rank against some of the greats from his country?
Antonelli Career
Only just coming up to his 20th birthday, Kimi Antonelli followed up a successful karting career by progressing through the ranks of elite racing, winning titles along the way and developing a name for himself in F1 circles. He had been a member of the Mercedes Junior Team since 2019, and he signed for the main team last year, replacing Lewis Hamilton to partner George Russell.
Antonelli became the third-youngest driver in F1 history when he made his debut in Australia last season, and made his first podium finish in Canada. It has been this year that Antonelli has really taken his career – and Mercedes – to new heights, however. He won his first Grand Prix in China in March, and then won the next four as well, establishing a commanding lead in the drivers’ championship race.
Antonelli will now be planning to record more victories in the second half of the F1 season to really become one of the Italian legends of the sport, offering himself the opportunity to be the best ever from his homeland.
The Two True Greats
When it comes to Italian greats, there are two names that immediately come to mind. Giuseppe “Nino” Farina is the first – and was the first-ever F1 champion when the series was launched in 1950. Racing for Alfa Romeo, Farina would enjoy a short-lived career, taking second place a year later without winning a single race. He would win his final F1 race in 1953 before retiring from racing completely just two years later. Sadly, Farina died in a road accident in 1966 at the age of 59.
The other big name in Italian F1 history – and probably the biggest until Kimi Antonelli wins multiple championships – is Alberto Ascari. He had shown his talent while Farina was claiming the drivers’ title in 1950, finishing fifth in the standings after racing just four times. He was runner-up a year later before winning the first of his back-to-back titles with Ferrari in 1952. He would move to Lancia a year later but died while driving a Ferrari in a test lap at Monza in 1955. He remains, to this day, the F1 champion with the fewest Grand Prix starts.
Other Italian Masters
The last Italian driver to really threaten to win the drivers’ championship before Antonelli was Michele Alboreto. He had been racing in F1 for three years when he joined Ferrari in 1984, a team he transformed from a nostalgic memory to a force in the sport. In 1985, his multiple Grand Prix victories looked like they were going to bring Italy another champion after decades of waiting. But then repeated engine trouble allowed Alain Prost to come through to claim the title. He moved to sportscars in 1995 and in 2001 became yet another Italian driver to be killed in testing, at the age of just 44.
Riccardo Patrese is a driver known for a long time for his long-standing record of 256 starts, but he was much more than that, and might have been a contender if he had driven better cars. Patrese began his F1 career in 1977, but it wasn’t until his time at Williams in the 1990s that he really showed his talent. Partnering Nigel Mansell, he was never destined to win the title, but his two wins in 1992 saw him finish runner-up to the British driver.
Another Italian driver of note is Giancarlo Fisichella, who competed over 14 seasons for a number of teams, including his beloved Ferrari. Born into a noble Sicilian family, Fisichella began F1 racing in 1996, ultimately managing three career wins and 19 podium finishes before retiring in 2009. He was known for getting as much as possible out of cars that were never going to bring him titles. Well-liked, he was the last Italian to win a Grand Prix until Kimi Antonelli took the checkered flag in China this year.
The Future of Italian F1
Italy has not been without success in F1 over the years, especially if we consider how dominant Ferrari has been throughout the history of the sport. But it is Kimi Antonelli who now holds the dreams of a motorsport-loving nation. His electrifying start to the 2026 F1 season has given him the chance to do what only two of his countrymen have ever done.
Antonelli is already the second-most successful Italian F1 driver in history when it comes to race wins and can now push on to even greater heights. He will only be 20 by the time this season ends, and possibly already a champion. It has taken a long time, but F1 is finally being ruled by an Italian again.
